client.jar

client.jar

Author(s)	Mojang Studios
Platform(s)	and other platforms that support running a JVM
Written in	Java
Latest version	Release: 1.21.5 Snapshot: 25w15a
Release date	May 16, 2009
Size	≈ 26 MiB
License	EULA
Source available	Partial
Links	Website

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client.jar is a JAR file containing the Minecraft program and some default resources. Its launched by the user using the Minecraft Launcher.

The client.jar file is named using the version number after download, e.g., 1.21.5.jar. The name client.jar is used on the distribution server, and commonly as a general term for all versions of the file. It is located at .minecraft/versions/version/version.jar, next to the client.json file.

It can be opened with a file archiving program that supports ZIP files.

Contents

The file contains some, but not all, default resources. For instance, textures from the vanilla resource pack are stored here, but sound files are stored separately.

It also stores the Minecraft program in form of Java class files. These files have names such as "acq" or "qn", because they have been obfuscated with the ProGuard tool to hide the original names. However, they can still be disassembled or decompiled to understand their functionality and aid modding, and can be deobfuscated using the official obfuscation maps or community-created obfuscation maps such as Yarn.

Directory structure

The client.jar file has the following directory structure. Note that Java class files have been omitted for brevity.

•  version.jar

• •  META-INF: Information for the JVM, including signature information, which may be used to check if the game is modified.
    •  MANIFEST.MF
    •  MOJANGCS.RSA
    •  MOJANGCS.SF
  •  assets: The vanilla resource pack.
    •  minecraft Expand
      •  atlases
      •  blockstates
      •  font
      •  items
      •  lang
        •  en_us.json
      •  models
      •  particles
      •  shaders
      •  texts
      •  textures
      •  gpu_warnlist.json
      •  regional_compliancies.json
    •  .mcassetsroot: Empty file identifying the vanilla resource pack.
  •  com
    •  mojang
      •  blaze3d
  •  data: The vanilla data pack.
    •  minecraft Expand
      •  advancement
      •  banner_pattern
      •  chat_type
      •  damage_type
      •  datapacks
        •  bundle
        •  trade_rebalance
      •  dimension_type
      •  enchantment
      •  enchantment_provider
        •  raid
      •  jukebox_song
      •  loot_table
      •  recipe
      •  structure
      •  tags
      •  trim_material
      •  trim_pattern
      •  wolf_variant
      •  worldgen
    •  .mcassetsroot: Empty file identifying the vanilla data pack.
  •  net
    •  minecraft
      •  client
      •  data
      •  obfuscate
      •  server
      •  util
  •  flightrecorder-config.jfc
  •  pack.png: Vanilla resource pack and data pack icon.
  •  version.json

History

[hide]Java Edition pre-Classic
mc-161607							Notch started distributing the game to other people, constituting the creation of client.jar.
[hide]Java Edition Classic
0.0.14a_08							Signature files, MOJANG_C.SF and MOJANG_C.DSA have been added to the META-INF folder.
[hide]Java Edition Indev
0.31			20091223-0040				Java class files have been moved from client.jar/com/mojang/minecraft to client.jar/net/minecraft.
[hide]Java Edition Infdev
20100627							Java class files are now all located in the root directory of client.jar.
[hide]Java Edition
1.2.5							The signature files, MOJANG_C.SF and MOJANG_C.DSA have been moved to CODESIGN.SF and CODESIGN.RSA, respectively.
1.21.4			24w45a				New entry point net.minecraft.client.data.Main is present in client.jar, with similar command line structure as data generator in server.jar.

See also

• .minecraft
• server.jar